Eye Drops vs. Laura Geller Shadow Shifter

If you're familiar with eyeshadow pigments, you've probably heard about using eye drops to liquify and intensify the pigment you're working with. I've done it many times before in the past but it seems like every Youtuber I watch mentions that you can use eye drops but then they proceed to use some other mixing medium; this always made me wonder if eye drops were really the best thing to use to get the strongest pigmentation. A few months ago I found a duo pack of the Laura Geller Shadow Shifter on clearance at Ulta for about $8 so I decided to get it and try something new. I've been practicing with it for several weeks now and I've included swatches for both high end and drugstore pigments so everyone can see how they compare!

PROS:

These drops definitely work. As you can see, I got a much more pigmented swatch from liquifying the pigment with these drops. Surprisingly, the drugstore pigments were harder to remove with the drops than the MAC ones! I can also completely testify to the fact that this product did not make my shadows crease. I always get nervous putting any wet products on my eyes but this product really did seal everything in. I can't say they were waterproof because I didn't jump in a pool or anything with it on but it did hold up extremely well on my eyes for several hours.

CONS:

Balance. If you don't get the ratio of drops to pigment just right when mixing it, it can be a disaster. You can even see in my Maybelline swatch that the product looked chunky in some parts- I left this in the picture intentionally to show how that can happen. I used the same amounts when mixing all my swatches yet not all of them turned out perfectly smooth; this is a common risk I've found with the product which makes me feel like the turnout will be unpredictable every time. *ALSO* my biggest issue with these had to do with layering. Many people get their brush wet then dip it directly in the pigment and apply it; this was impossible to do as the application was incredibly uneven. I always mix it on the back of my hand first and then apply it to my eyes. Occasionally I would need to go back in and pick up more pigment to get the full intensity on my eyes and THIS is where it can really turn to shit. I did this one of my MAC pigments that isn't featured and the second application of pigment completely chunked up on my eye and then removed it completely! I was not swiping with my brush I was patting it on and I still had this problem- it completely ruined my look that night and I was not happy!

IS IT WORTH IT?

Ahem, do you see the differences between the eye drop swatches and the shadow shifter ones? NO! Almost all the swatches both drugstore and MAC were equally as pigmented with both drops! The only differences I really saw were in the MAC pigments; Kitschmas went on just a little bit smoother with the shadow shifter, and Push the Edge actually went on too dark in my opinion- the eye drops pulled a much more wearable purple and showed off it's slight duo-chrome much better. Bottom line, if you can find them on clearance I would say give them a shot and see if it helps waterproof your makeup (especially in the summer months). If you can't find them on sale, HELL NO! These retail for $17-$20 and there's no way I would EVER advise anyone to spend that kind of money on these. Eye drops are like $4 so I'd go that direction. Also note that I included the swatches after two swipes of a makeup wipe below and the eye drops held up pretty much as well as the shadow shifter drops!

*this post was not sponsored and all photos are my own*

ColourPop Haul and Review!

I don't know if it's addiction, obsession, or maybe a little bit of both, but I know I reached a new level when I swatched everything in this haul and was immediately tempted to get online and place another order. Many people haven't heard of ColourPop, and until recently, I hadn't either. As a part-time beauty Instagram stalker, I started noticing there were tons of pictures of their products and soon after that, one of my favorite Youtuber's, LustreLux, started incorporating some of the shadows into her looks and a favorite's video. After all the hype and talk about how odd the texture of their eye-shadows are, I decided to place an order.

Here's some background info about ColourPop:

• Website: www.colourpop.com
• They sell eye-shadow singles. They don't make palettes because the texture of the shadow will dry out if it's de-potted. For you Z-Palette girls, sorry bout it.
• Almost every shadow you order will be glittery UNLESS you order from their recently launched matte collection.
• They also sell lipstick and lip-liner, or as they call it "lippie stix" and pencils. Every shade of lipstick has a corresponding pencil!
• EVERY INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT IS $5. Do you hear the choir singing?
• You only need a $30 minimum for free shipping and if you sign up for the newsletter you get $5 off... aka a free product, so do dis.

To get a well-rounded idea of ColourPop I ordered five eye-shadows and two lippie stix; here's how it went.

Okay can I just say I immediately fell in love with ColourPop before I even opened my products? Do you see that note in the top left corner? That is a handwritten thank you note from ColourPop. Like what? I so appreciate the care and personalization they took from both a business and a consumer standpoint. Those other two cards are details about some of their ingredients. finishes, tips for application, and upkeep of the products. Again, I love them so much for this!!!

SUPER SHOCK SHADOWS:
The biggest hype and reputation for these shadows is the texture; I've heard everything from creamy feeling, to foam, to satiny velvet. My interpretation is that they feel sort of like a cream but almost oilier. I don't want the word "oily" to turn anyone off because they set to a powder and I haven't experienced a creasing problem! Another amazing thing is that despite most of these being intensely glittery, I've experienced NO FALLOUT!

POP ROCKS:

This is the color that inspired my order. I literally checked my shipping confirmation every single day because I couldn't wait to see how this shadow works. They call it a tie-dye shadow because it has several colors speckled together and when you swatch it, they all come together and make a really gorgeous and unique shade. This one has baby pink, blue, lavender, and a ton of glitter. When I swatch it I get this amazing periwinkle sort of duo-chrome looking color that shows all of its depth as you move in different light. It makes me think of the Lizzie McGuire movie when she wears her big custom gown at the end that rips of into pants and crop top. If I had wound up hating every other product in this haul (which I don't) it would have been worth it for this color alone.

KRINKLE:

CALLING ALL MERMAIDS! I'm so happy with this color, it's exactly how I imagined it would be. It can tend to photograph almost like a gunmetal grey but it's actually this beautiful blueish teal duo-chrome glittery color that just makes me think instant mermaid. Easily my second favorite of the bunch.

SLAVE2PINK

No other word to describe this but Barbie. The pictures do no justice. It's a hot pink with undertones of blue and so much glitter that it's hard to think I would buy such a girly color, but it's so BEAUTIFUL! This shade however is where the confusion starts. This one is technically labeled as a pressed pigment; I don't know what the technical difference is but it seems that only the fluorescent shades qualify as pigments. Additionally, in super fine print on the label I noticed that it says "not for eye area" and it's mentioned in the details on the website. What? How do you make a pressed pigment on a site that mainly sells eye-shadows and then they list you shouldn't put it on your eyes? Where am I supposed to put it? They don't include a reason which makes me concerned as to what may happen if I do put it on my eyes, although I seriously doubt it's serious. This color also surprisingly stains! I don't see this negatively, I think it's a perk to its longevity but I wont know until I wear it on my eyes.

SHAMELESS

Unfortunately, Shameless was kind of a bummer for me. Don't get me wrong, it's still a stunning color, but it tends to pull a little different from how it looks in the pot. My camera really struggled to pick this color up accurately, but it's basically a really deep forest green with an almost lime green duo-chrome from the blue and gold glitter that's inside it. What I don't love about it is that I feel like there's almost a black in the background that make this swatch so incredibly dark and make the green aspect almost secondary. I'm going to keep playing with it and see how it looks on a white base but overall, it's not my favorite of the colors.

MEOW

Meow is f***ing right! This was another tie-dye shadow I was stoked to test out. The specks of color include a mix of pinks and greys and when blended together you get an almost indescribable color. It's like a silvery-pinkish-lavendery color. Yeah, fail. But it's beautiful and that's what matters.

At $5 a shadow these really are a steal and a completely unique formula that is worth trying and having in your collection. I've never even been much of a glitter girl and I'm already trying to buy out half of the store! While some of the shadows usually needed about 2 coats to get its full payoff, they are ridiculously pigmented and gorgeous. They have worked best for me as a lid color and I get the strongest effect just using my finger but I plan to try more and more and test out how the blending works. I can't wait to place my next order, ColourPop has a new customer for life.

*OH AND BTW, these are the swatches after three swipes of a makeup wipe!!! UHM, HELLO!!!*

LIPPIE STIX:
I didn't know as much about the lip products before ordering them, which is why I only purchased two. I LOVE that they have a huge range of wearable shades in addition to pastels and crazy colors! I wanted to broaden my collection so I tried something completely different; I got a black, and a purple.

BULLCHIC:

First of all, I love the name. ColourPop has an edgier dialogue and style and I think it's humorous and entertaining! Bullchic is a matte finish black lipstick and I have mixed feelings. I don't own another black lipstick so I don't have much to compare it to but I felt like it could have been a little bit more pigmented. It's still a great color payoff but I need to do about two swipes to get full opaque color. I also don't think this is matte whatsoever. It's not glossy, but it's definitely not matte. Added plus, these lipsticks smell like warm vanilla sugar spray from Bath & Body Works.

GRIND:

I'm really, really pleased with Grind! It's really difficult for me to pull of a purple but it makes me optimistic. I also felt like when I applied it lightly and blotted it, it was a gorgeous violet-magenta and I adored it. However, once again, I don't see how this is a matte. This one applied less shiny than Bullchic but I would say it's a demi-matte at best.

Overall the lip colors are really comfortable and pigmented! I'm SO happy that it's a skinny lipstick, especially since they sell some crazy colors. All the lip crayons and lip markers are on the market and I'm just like, this is why people are intimidated by lip products! Think about it, would you use a paint roller on a coloring book? NO! The skinnier size and the sharp tip make it so easy to apply your lipstick without getting it all over your face or even needing a lip-liner.


*this post was not sponsored (as much as I might wish that it was) and all pictures are my own*